Arduino is the open-source electronics prototyping platform that has taken the design and hobbyist world by storm. This thorough introduction, updated for Arduino 1.0, gives you lots of ideas for projects and helps you work with them right away. From getting organized to putting the final touches on your prototype, all the information you need is here.

Inside, you'll learn about:

Interaction design and physical computing

The Arduino hardware and software development environment

Basics of electricity and electronics

Prototyping on a solderless breadboard

Drawing a schematic diagram

Talking to a computer — and the cloud — from Arduino

Building a custom plant-watering system

Getting started with Arduino is a snap. To use the introductory examples in this guide, all you need an Arduino Uno or Arduino Leonardo, along with an appropriate USB cable and an LED. The easy-to-use Arduino development environment is free to download and runs on Windows, Mac or Linux.

Join hundreds of thousands of hobbyists who have discovered this incredible (and educational) platform. Written by the co-founder of the Arduino project, Getting Started with Arduino gets you in on all the fun.

Chapter 4 — Really Getting Started with Arduino 4.1: Anatomy of an Interactive Device 4.2: Sensors and Actuators 4.3: Blinking an LED 4.4: Pass Me the Parmesan 4.5: Arduino Is Not for Quitters 4.6: Real Tinkerers Write Comments 4.7: The Code, Step by Step 4.8: What We Will Be Building 4.9: What Is Electricity? 4.10: Using a Pushbutton to Control the LED 4.11: How Does This Work? 4.12: One Circuit, A Thousand Behaviours

Chapter 6 — The Arduino Leonardo 6.1: How Is This Arduino Different from All Other Arduinos? 6.2: Other Differences Between the Arduino Leonardo and the Arduino Uno 6.3: Leonardo Keyboard Message Example 6.4: How Does This Work? 6.5: Leonardo Button Mouse Control Example 6.5.1: How Does This Work? 6.6: More Leonardo Differences

About the Author

Massimo Banzi is the co-founder of the Arduino project and has worked for clients such as Prada, Artemide, Persol, Whirlpool, V&A Museum and Adidas. He spent four years at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea as Associate Professor. Massimo has taught workshops and has been a guest speaker at institutions like Architectural Association - London, Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel, Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd, FH Potsdam, Domus Academy, Medialab Madrid, Escola Superior de Disseny Barcelona, ARS Electronica Linz, Mediamatic Amsterdam, and Doors of Perception Amsterdam.

Before joining IDII, he was CTO for the Seat Ventures incubator. He spent many years working as a software architect, both in Milan and London, on projects for clients like Italia Online, Sapient, Labour Party, BT, MCI WorldCom, SmithKlineBeecham, Storagetek, BSkyB and boo.com.